Page 4 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 14 - 18

MR. W. D. HARBINSON (instructed by Mr. Farrell) appeared on behalf of the third-class passengers. (Admitted on application.) MR. ROBERTSON DUNLOP watched the proceedings on behalf of the owners and officers of the s.s. “Californian.” (Leyland Line). (Admitted on Application.) MR. H. E. DUKE, K. C., M. P., and MR. VAUGHAN WILIAMS (instructed by Messrs. A. F. and R. W. Tweedie) appeared as Counsel on behalf of Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon. (Admitted on Application.) Sir Robert Finlay: My Lord, I will not interrupt this witness (Turnbull) of course, but by-and- bye I desire permission to recall both Mr. Lightoller and Mr. Boxhall with regard to the question whether these messages were ever transmitted to the Captain or any of the officers on board the “Titanic”? The Commissioner: Very well, quite right.. Sir Robert Finlay: As far as I recollect, no questions were put to Mr. Lightoller on the subject at all or to Mr. Boxhall, except in re-examination. The Solicitor-General: I think Sir Robert is right, and I realise, whatever we prove or do not prove with the help of the witness, we do not in any case by this evidence do more than carry messages to the Marconi office on the “Titanic.” What happened to them when they got into that office is not a matter which the present witness can tell at all. The Commissioner: Nor does it matter. The Solicitor-General: Well, of course, it matters from the point of view of liability, because, of course, the Marconi operator may be regarded as not in the service of the White Star Company; he may not be their servant, your Lordship sees. The Commissioner: Well, in a sense, he is not. Sir Robert Finlay: I think, my Lord, in no sense is he in the service of the ship. Of course he is under discipline as everyone on board the ship must be, but he is not in their service; he is the servant of the Marconi Company. The Commissioner: Still he is there, I suppose, for the very purpose, as a servant of the Marconi Company of communicating to the people in charge of the ship the messages which he gets which would affect the navigation. Sir Robert Finlay: Yes. I think we should be able without going into detail at the present moment to satisfy your Lordship beyond all doubt that these messages, the “Mesaba” message and the “Amerika” message, were not communicated either to the Commander or to any of the officers on board the “Titanic.” The Commissioner: We need not say anything about it at present; we had better hear the evidence. GEORGE ELLIOTT TURNBULL, Recalled. Further examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL. 16088. We were asking you about these different messages in order of time, and I think you had given us evidence about the message from the “La Touraine”? - Yes. We need not go back on that. The next one I wanted some information about was the message from the “Caronia.” Your Lordship will remember this is only by way of confirmation, because on page 273 of the Shorthand Notes Captain Barr has already given evidence about it. Sir Robert Finlay: I do not think there is any dispute as to the “Caronia” message, my Lord. The Commissioner: No. I thought you could assist me by indicating the messages as we go along with this gentleman the receipt of which you dispute; that is the receipt of which you dispute so far as the officers were concerned.